SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Sioux Falls City Council members had some questions about allowing the city to donate, or gift, 117 Brockhouse specimens from the Delbridge museum to another museum at the University of Notre Dame.
Learning that members of the Delbridge family supported a donation to Notre Dame, “That’s a piece of powerful information,” council member Curt Soehl said at Monday’s informational meeting. “They are giving their blessing.”
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Several Delbridge family members, including three daughters, have sent letters of support for the donation to Notre Dame.
Representatives of a work group assigned to decide on the future of the Brockhouse collection from the Delbridge museum said Monday that it recommended donating the specimens to the biodiversity museum at Notre Dame. The university plans to display some of the specimens and use the collection for public education, student education, research and similar.
The council cannot make decisions at informational meetings. The work group’s recommendation is expected to be included on a future city council meeting agenda.
Council members were told by city attorney Dave Pfeifle that the city has the authority to donate, or gift, the specimens to Notre Dame because the city has fulfilled its obligation to the Delbridge family. The family donated the collection to the city and the natural history museum at the Great Plains Zoo was established in 1984. After arsenic was found in the majority of the specimens, the museum was closed because of safety concerns in August of 2023.
Still, Soehl had questions about the recommended donation. He asked if the council had the authority to change a gifting agreement.
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Pfeifle said while the original agreement called for a permanent home for the collection, circumstances have changed. The city consulted two lawyers who said the terms of the agreement have been fulfilled, he said. For example, the lifespan of a building is considered 40 years and the collection was housed for at least 40 years, Pfeifle said. The lawyers cited impracticability as another reason why the city can donate the collection, he said.
“I can’t find any statutory authority for the city council to break a gifting agreement,” Soehl said. Soehl asked if the city could get a declaratory judgment from a judge that says the city has the authority to break the agreement instead of using opinions from lawyers.
“I would view that as unnecessary,” Pfeifle said.
Council members Rich Merkouris and Sarah Cole said they had gotten questions and input from the public about the collection including if any other zoos had museums of natural history.
Great Plains Zoo Executive Director Becky Dewitz said a zoo in Kansas has a natural history museum that has a waterfall, river and is “very different in size and scope” from the Delbridge.
It would cost about $6 to $7 million for a new building and the needed dioramas to properly and safely display the animals, Dewitz said.
Notre Dame officials said in information provided at Monday’s meeting, if the city’s donation is approved, it would take possession of the animals in late May or early June.
Pfeifle said if the city chose to have it open or some animals on display until Notre Dame would take possession, it would need to hire a third party to maintain and display it properly for that short amount of time.
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Merkouris asked if the city had satisfied the original gift agreement, to clarify the situation.
Pfeifle said yes, the city had satisfied the original gift agreement with the Delbridge family.
The work group also had a consulting firm review the collection and evaluate options.
Soehl said the public sees a “boogeyman” when it hears that a consultant’s report on the collection was given to the city in May but was not presented or available until July.
Dewitz said the consultant working with the city had not yet completed the report in May and the consultant’s family was affected by the conflict in Gaza, so the delivery of the report was not until July.